threekingdomswikiaorg-20200215-history
Battle of Tong Pass
Background After the defeat at Chibi and the subsequent loss of southern territory to Wu, Cao Cao wanted to annex the lands to the west. With the Yangzi river providing a good natural defence for the southern territories and the strong alliance of Shu-Han and Wu, the oblique approach through the mountains to the west was a safer option. Although the lords of the Liang province had accepted Cao Cao's state, they could be called truly loyal supporters and Cao Cao's influence their was fairly minimal. In 208 A.D., just before Cao Cao attacked south, Ma Teng one of the more powerful lords in the west had accepted the position of Minister of the Guards and over 100 of his clansmen had been relocated to Ye city as hostages, his son, Ma Chao had assumed his troops and remained in Liang province. The Battle In Apr. 211 A.D., Cao Cao dispatched Zhong Yao on a mission to seize Hanzhong from Zhang Lu. Protector of the Army Who Subdues the West Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang were also ordered to rendezvous with Zhong Yao and assist him.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao.SGZ: Biography of Xiahou Yuan. Junior Clerk in the Department of Granaries Gao Rou heard and attempted to dissuade Cao Cao. He said sending a great army west would give the appearance that Wei was attacking Liang province, and the panicked warlords there would raise arms. Gao Rou said first they should collect the Three Adjuncts (三輔)The three western commanderies of Sili province: Youfufeng, Zuopingyi and Jingzhao. Presumably Gao Rou means through non-military action or requesting officials there to raise soldiers, because the invading forces are blocked just outside of this area so a military seizure would not have worked., with those secure it would be possible to gain access to Hanzhong.de Crespigny. Chapter 66 in To Establish Peace Vol 2, Jian'an 18, section HSGZ: Biography of Gao Rou. Cao Cao did not listen and sent his forces west. The warlords of Liang did interpret Cao Cao's actions as an attack against them and all commanderies to Liang province rose up in rebellion, led by Han Sui and Ma Chao.At this time, over 100 of Ma Chao's clanmens, including his father and brothers, were hostages of Cao Cao in Ye city. Ma Chao's defeat would result in the extermination of his clan. Ma Chao, Han Sui, Yang Qiu, Cheng Yin, Li Kan, Liang Xing, Hou Xian, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yi, Ma Wan et al. marched a force of 100,000 to the west end of Tong Pass (潼關)Tong Pass was in the far west of Hongnong commandery in Sili province. It is just south of the confluence of the Wei and Yellow river. to prevent the Wei forces from heading west.SGZ: Dian Lue, Biography of Ma Chao. Cao Ren was promoted to General Who Gives Tranquility to the West and sent to oversee all the officers at Tong Pass. Cao Cao also said to him: "The soldiers west of pass are capable and high-spirited, erect strong fortifications do not against battle."SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao. At the same time, Xu Huang was sent to camp at Fenyin (汾陰) and keep Hedong (河東) commandery settled.Hedong was northeast of Tong Pass. Aside from the obvious (preventing further rebellion), this action prevents the rebels seizing the area north of Cao Cao's position and circumventing the Wei position at Tong Pass; and it allows Cao Cao to later circumvent the Liang forces at Tong Pass. Xu Huang gave meat and wine to the people and let them pray to their ancestors.SGZ: Biography of Xu Huang. In Aug., Cao Cao arrived the the east of Tong Pass with his main force. Several of Cao Cao's advisors said to him: "The soldiers west of the Passes are strong and well-versed with a long spearStrong cavalry.. Without a skilled and well-chosen vanguard, we cannot match them." To which Cao Cao replied: "The flow of battle is controlled by me, not the enemy. Although the rebels are well-versed with long spears, they will not be given the opportunity to strike. Gentlemen, observe them only." It was unwise to attempt to fight through Tong Pass, so Cao Cao wanted to bypass the Liang forces by crossing the nearby rivers. However, he was afraid that the Liang forces would occupy the opposing banks and prevent him crossing. Xu Huang said to Cao Cao: "Duke Cao, they hold your soldiers here and leave Puban unoccupied, so you know they cannot make plans. Now, if you lend me elite soldiers I will lead a vanguard force across Puban Crossing to secure the area and prevent the rebels from capturing it." Cao Cao agreed. He used his main force to draw the enemy's attention and quietly dispatched Xu Huang and Zhu Ling with 4,000 elite troops north across the Yellow river to Puban (蒲阪)Puban was in Hedong commandery, it's western and southern borders were established by the Yellow river.. Xu Huang and Zhu Ling began to establish a bridgehead north of the Wei (渭), but before they could finish the fortifications, Liang Xing led over 5,000 soldiers in a night raid. Xu Huang repelled Liang Xing's forces.SGZ: Biography of Xu Huang. With a beachhead established, Cao Cao began to move the main body of his forces to join them. Cao Cao was confident in his success, so when his main forces crossed the river, he elect to stay behind on the southern bank until all others had crossed. Ma Chao wanted to take advantage of the Wei forces abandoning the southern bank and led 10,000 troops against Cao Cao's minor force: himself, his bodyguard Xu Chu and 100 odd men of his Tiger Warriors. Seeing the vast enemy force, Cao Cao remained seated and kept his composure to keep his men from panicking.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao.SGZ: Biography of Xu Chu. Xu Chu said to Cao Cao that the time to leave was now, and hurriedly ushered him to the boats. The Liang troops kept up the pressure, raining arrows down upon Cao Cao's small forces. The Wei soldiers clung to the sides of the boat in attempt to escape drowning and the boat was in danger of capsizing. Xu Chu hacked at the desperate soldiers with one hand and used a horse saddle to shield Cao Cao from the arrows with the other.SGZ: Biography of Xu Chu. Colonel Ding Fei released cattle and horses in an attempt to distract the Liang forces. Ma Chao's force fell into disorder as they hurriedly tried to corral the animals, and Cao Cao was able to complete his crossing.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao. With the Wei forces north of the river, Ma Chao said: "We should cross to the north of the Wei river then prevent him crossing the Yellow river. In no more than 20 days, his supplies will be exhausted and he will be forced to retreat." However, Han Sui said: "We can wait for his forces to come back across the river and attack him mid-crossing. Isn't that a better plan!" So they disregarded Ma Chao's plan and decided to remain south of the river. With the main body of the Wei forces planning to cross to the north bank of the Wei river and Xu Huang's forces having already established a beachhead there, the Liang forces withdrew farther west past the confluence of the Wei and Yellow rivers to prevent being isolated. On the north bank of the Wei, Cao Cao again used his main force to draw the enemy's attention while he secretly had men construct a pontoon bridge using boats. The Wei forces quietly crossed the Wei river and tried to establish a beachhead on the southern bank. However, the soil was sandy and it could not be shaped to construct fortifications. And so Ma Chao's cavalry would constantly rout them. Cao Cao's advisor Lou Gui said to Cao Cao: "You can use the sand to make walls, simply pour water over it. The weather is extremely cold and overnight it will freeze, then you will have your walls." Cao Cao adopted Lou Gui's idea, he made many bags of a thick waterproof, and that night when his forces crossed the river, they were able to construct a sturdy wall by the following day.Cao Man zhuan: Cao Man Zhuan in SGZ Biography of Cao Cao. With a beachhead set up on the southern bank of the Wei, Ma Chao led his forces in a night raid against it. Wei troops ambushed the Liang soldiers, scoring a victory. The Liang forces retreated farther westwards. Ma Chao sent a letter asking for a truce and offered to cede the lands west of the Yellow river, but Cao Cao refused.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao. In Oct., Cao Cao led the rest of his forces south across the Wei river. Ma Chao and Han Sui came to parley with Cao Cao. Secretly, Ma Chao hoped he could use the opportunity to capture Cao Cao and end the conflict, however Cao Cao's bodyguard, Xu Chu, escorted him. Although confident in his own strength, Ma Chao had heard of the prowess of Xu Chu, and he asked Cao Cao: "I heard Lord Cao has a Tiger Marquis (虎侯), where would he be?" Cao Cao turned and pointed at Xu Chu, who was glaring at Ma Chao the entire time. Seeing Xu Chu, Ma Chao had to dismiss the idea of capturing Cao Cao.SGZ: Biography of Xu Chu.SGZ: Biography of Ma Chao. Ma Chao repeatedly offered challenges for battle, hoping to make use of the Liang cavalry on the open plains, but Cao Cao would not accept the challenge. Eventually, Ma Chao and the others asked to cede land and even offered to send their sons as insuranceNot quite sure how reliable this insurance would be. Cao Cao had most of Ma Chao's family already and Ma Chao had chosen to rebel. Although, he would have insurance for the other warlords if they sent family members. Suffice it to say, by this time, Cao Cao had his sights set on complete victory., Cao Cao was about to refuse again, but Jia Xu stopped him. Instead, Jia Xu suggested he pretend to accept. Cao Cao asked him for a plan, "Divide them. That is all." Jia Xu replied, then he relayed a stratagem to Cao Cao.SGZ: Biography of Jia Xu. Cao Cao asked to parley with Han Sui and they rode out alone to talk. When they met, Cao Cao refused to discuss military matters instead he restricted the conversation to idle pleasantries and reminiscences of past days in the old capital. Cao Cao would take Han Sui's hand and laugh loudly as though they were close friends. When Han Sui returned to the other warlords, they asked him what had been discussed. "Nothing worth repeating." Han Sui replied. And so the others grew suspicious of him. Then, Cao Cao wrote a letter to Han Sui; he struck out and altered many characters as though the message had been changed. When the others saw it they assumed Han Sui had done it because he had secretly made an alliance with Cao Cao, and they grew even more distrustful.SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao. Jia Xu's plan had worked and the rebel forces were growing suspicious of one another, thereupon Cao Cao launched his attack. He first sent his light troops to engage the enemy for a long time to wear them down and then dealt them a crushing blow by having his Tiger Cavalry fall upon the enemy flanks. The Liang rebels were defeated. Cheng Yi and Li Kan were both killed in the battle; Ma Chao and Han Sui had fled deeper into northwest Liang province; and Yang Qiu had fled to Anding (安定).SGZ: Biography of Cao Cao.SGZ: Biography of Ma Chao. Aftermath Xiahou Yuan was sent, with assistance from Xu Huang and Zhu Ling, to subdue some of the local tribes. Later all the forces besieged Yang Qiu at Anding. Yang Qiu surrendered fairly quickly and so Cao Cao let him keep his position. Cao Cao returned to Ye city and left Xiahou Yuan to garrison Chang'an and maintain a presence in the west. Cao Cao then exterminated Ma Chao's clan as punishment for his rebellion. Earlier at Tong Pass, whenever a rebellious warlord would arrive, Cao Cao would seem pleased. The generals were perplexed, so once the Liang forces had been defeated, they asked Cao Cao why he was so happy. Cao Cao said: "The land within the passes is very broad. If each of the rebels kept to the difficult country and made us attack him, it would take more than two years to settle them. Now they all appear together, and although they form a considerable force, none will take orders from another. So their army has no accepted leader and they can be destroyed with a single blow. This makes the job simpler, so naturally I am pleased."de Crespigny. Chapter 66 in To Establish Peace Vol 2, Jian'an 16, section GSGZ: Biography of Cao Cao.Considering Cao Cao's response to what was a large-scale rebellion and no attempt made to mitigate it, it would seem Cao Cao anticipated the Liang warlords rebelling and wanted to use the opportunity to pacify the more unstable elements of the northwest. Notes Fact vs Fiction Historically... *...Ma Chao's father was killed as a result of Ma Chao's rebellion, not before. *...Xu Chu did not strip down and duel Ma Chao. *...Ma Chao did not cut off Han Sui's hand. *...Cao Cao did not come close to being defeated by Ma Chao, he outmanoeuvred Ma Chao repeatedly. References Sources Category:Battles